Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-06-24
punt the redskins n mebbe he'd hit on

count the redskins n mehbe he'd hit on
some plan to get their scalps fore MORN
in. So he KEEP edgin' along ON his face
to'ards the crack, n every time tn In.
juns'd laugh or make a noise he'd hist
over a few inches, n then when they'd
get quiet he'd lay still. Now, when
Dick built tn cabin n pole cut fer tn
loft wuzn't jest straight, he'd a bow in it
like. n he wuz in a hurry n didn't stop
to get another, but jest put it in, bowin'
side up, n cut a notch in tn logs fer it
to lay in n stuck a wedge in by tn side
to keep it firm. 1t he'd shrunk ez it got
seasoned, O. course, n got loose. d.
rectly tn Injuns set up a big laugh at
some Joke, Joe Civ a big bunch for ard
on his face, struck tn bowin' part O.
this pole, and that turned quicker'n a
fash n opened a big hole in the loft
floor n let Joe Speaker down through,
head first, eyes a poppin' out O. his head
at tn idea O. plumpin' down 'moug a
lot O. Injuns, he didn't know how many,
his great big fat body n short legs n
arms all stretched out, fer all tn world
like a big bullfrog, n yellin' out, "Oh,
Lord. here / comet" to tn top O. his
bass voice. Tn Injuns didn't hev time
fer more'n a glimpse o. him, landin'
right in tn midst NV 'em 'thout havin'
sed a word about it, 18th a whole lot o.
clapboards a rattlin' down on EN- n
three or four bushels o. that corn n pour
in on top o. tn whole caboodle So quick
they didn't know what il all wuz. They
jest got up, them lnjuns did. n made a
break fer more air n more room, n
didn't stop fer compliments nor nothin',
but give one snort n jumped for dear
life. Just then tn men up stairs all
jumped up, fer. they thought, o.
course, there'd be a mighty interestin'
state o. things N bout Jest no time
at all, n jumped up so quick'n their
heads all bumped 'ginst tn clapboard
roof I tn same time. They Jest knocked
off tn whole side O. tn roof on tn front
o. tn house, n bout a thousand O. them
boards came a-rattlin' down 'mong
Injuns jest S tn got side tn door. That
wuz worse n more NV il, n them redskins
Jest went a callyhootin fer tall timber, a
yellin' like all possessed, n got clean out
O. sight n bout no time. Then Joe
Speaker got up on his feet n looked out
O. doors n seen no %lnjuns, n all their
blankets n guns n tomahawks piled up
there, n felt in his pocket, n got out his
pipe, Lit it, n said: Ply shiminy, poys,
! told you we see Injuns!' n set down
afore the fire n begun to finish cookin'
tn venison, jest as cool S if he'd begun
the job himself. He told tn boys they
needn't be a mite afraid o the Injuns
comm back, n sure they didn't. They
wuz eighteen guns n powder horns N
tomahawks in tn corner, so they'd been
that many lnjuns there fore Joe Speaker
scared 'em off droppin down atop NV 'em.
The boys eat a hearty supper off that
venison n got home n good time next
mornln, n never seen no more lnjuns
that season. They often told tn
story themselves, but they never heard
anything about the Injun side NV it.
fer twenty years or more, when one day
M Nv 'em told about it in a store n&r
the Injun country. There wuz n old
redskin there n he heard il 18th great
~int'rest, n then said he wuz one O. them
same chaps; said they'd gone to'ards the
settlements t see 4 they could get a few
scalps. They'd been at tn cabin that
afternoon, a scoutin' round, n agreed to
meet there n stay all night. So when
they met there they didn't see nothing
strange, n supposed they WIZ all alone,
n when Joe Speaker come tumblin'
down 80 sudden n tn clapboards n
come q pilin' atop they wuz 50 scared
they thought it wuz tn old boy himself,
n didn't stop runnin' for an hour. Then
they found they'd left all their guns n
powder, but they dassent go back for
'em, n they like I starved afore they got
in tn Injun country n got somethin' TO
eat. He wuz awful relieved to know
Z he hadn't run away from tn devil
that night"
''Grandpa?"
"Well, Polly"
II think it was real mean to scare
away those poor, hungry Indians before
they got n bite of supper!'-Cincin.
natl Enquirer.